Yardbarker: Ryan Church

Are the Mets going to make a blockbuster trade??

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:16:54 -0500

Yesterday, it was quoted by COO Jeff Wilpon during the Citi-Field media tour that Omar Minaya has been working the phones with other GM's to work out trades and such.

He also mentioned that the Mets do not have a budget or particular number that Omar is shooting for (which I don't believe). Does that mean that besides trading the likes of Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, and Luis Castillo, are we in the mist of seeing a blockbuster trade in the works? Or is this all smoke and mirrors and the Mets will just make some minor adjustments.

We can now count out the Javier Vazquez deal as he is on his way to Hotlanta. There has been many talks about the Rays moving either Jackson or Sonnenstein, but that would require the Mets to move Ryan Church plus Heilman. If that happened, it would almost guarantee that Bobby Abreu or Raul Ibanez would in right field in 2009.

The Houston Astros are looking to cut some loose change from their payroll and their has been talks around Jose Valverde and Ty Wigginton. The Mets can also take a look into Carlos Lee, who is making around 75 Million over the next 4 years. Maybe the poorly run Astros would take a package to get his large body and salary out of Houston.

Then you have the Rockies, who would like to dish off Huston Street. The Mets would like him to set the table for the next closer that they sign. The Rockies would like Heilman and Feliciano in return for Street. Maybe the Mets might end up giving up Schoeneweis, instead of Feliciano. That would rid them of two headaches and would also mean the Mets would have to get something more than just Street. Plus the Mets would have to fill a lefthander void in their pen.

All in all, I hope it will be a interesting couple of days at the baseball winter meetings. I'd like to see the Mets do something no one has been talking about or rumored.

2008 Mets Final Grades

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:42:53 -0500

With final exams underway in colleges across the nation, I hand out final grades for the 2008 Mets.

Tidbits on left field: Rivera, Byrd, Ibanez...

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:57:35 -0500

It drives me crazy that it doesn't seem like this organization can multi-task, I understand that one move may impact another but it seems, at times under Omar they're too rigid. It's as if their on a ladder and until they climb one wrung another can't be addressed. This years ladder appears to ...

Worth a Shot: Val Pascucci

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:28:10 -0500

It's amazing to me that this will be my second post about Pascucci. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why the Mets did not give him a shot this season. Even with Moises Alou and Ryan Church missing significant time during the season, the Mets never even bothered to give Pascucci a look. ...

Starting Pitching Market : With Lowe and Perez looking to cash in, Mets will look for cheaper alternatives

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:08:43 -0500

In the NY Daily News, John Harper reports that the Mets will have to look for cheaper alternatives at starting pitcher because Boras' Clients, Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez will be priced too high.

The Mets are in the hunt for two starting pitchers, and Harper points out that the Mets have interest in Jon Garland and might revisit the trade possibility of Javier Vazquez. I like Jon Garland and I think he would be a good fit for the Mets. As for Javier Vazquez, if the Mets can rid themselves of Luis Castillo's contract in a trade to Chicago and receive a pitcher who has pitched 200 innings and struck out 200 or more batters in the last two years, I'd be all in for that..

Another Trade possibility that Harper says the Mets can revisit, is for Tampa Bay's Edwin Jackson. He is only 25 years old and he has electric stuff. The Rays are known to have interest in Heilman as a reliever, but have a need for a right fielder. Harper says the Mets might be inclined to throw Ryan Church at the Rays to get the young starter and replace him with Raul Ibanez..

If the Mets trade Church, they have other alternatives to look at

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:08:37 -0500

In the Daily News, John Harper was talking about the Mets might be willing to trade Ryan Church to acquire a starting pitcher (Edwin Jackson), in which it makes a better a case why they would be inclined to look at other left handed bats.

The Mets have some options to play right if they desired to trade Ryan Church and here are a handful of possibilities:

Bobby Abreu :

Bobby Abreu appears not to have a future with the NY Yankees and it looks like the Mets apparently have been rumored to have interest in him. It would make sense to acquire Abreu for his offensive clutch ability, but his defensive prow less is one that is less desired. In his career, he is a lifetime .300 hitter. He hit .297 with 20 HRS and drove in 100 RBI's. He has been able to handle the grind of New York, which makes him a plausible candidate.. He will be 35 years old in 2009..

Raul Ibanez :

Raul Ibanez was rumored before the trade deadline as someone the Mets had a real interest in. The Mariners were asking for too much for him and now he is a free agent. Daily News' John Harper mentioned him to be a candidate to replace Ryan Church. The Mets like his professionalism and he has a good friend in Carlos Beltran. Ibanez is slightly two years older than Abreu, which raises some questions about durability. He is a career .286 hitter. He hit .293 last year with 23 bombs and 110 RBI's. He is another player that is defensively challenged..

Adam Dunn :

Out of all the free agents, no one has been calling for Adam Dunn's name and there are reasons why. He is lifetime .247 hitter. He struck out a 164 times last year (combined w/ ARI & CIN ) and has a career strike out total of 1256. He is a left handed bat with some pop (when he hits them, there is no doubt they are gone). He reminds me of Rob Deer, who played most of his career with the Brewers. I don't think the Mets will be in the running for him, but he can come cheaper than most and has a small upside that he is only going to be 29 years old.

Fernando Martinez :

My last suggestion if the Mets get rid of Church is to promote Fernando Martinez. Of course, the Mets might unload the youngster this off-season if the right deal is reached. He has been compared to Juan Gonzalez to some, but has been bothered by the injury bug of late. In 86 games with Binghamton last year, he batted .287 with 8 HR's and 43 RBI's. His defense has never been questioned and the Mets can benefit from his youth. He is playing in winter ball this off-season . He is currently batting .346 with 3 HR's and 15 RBI's for the Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic). The Mets might have to take a look at him in the spring, even though it may remain a long shot..

In closing, I do not want the Mets to trade Ryan Church, but if they can get a young pitcher such as Edwin Jackson for him you might have to look into it. Of course, the Mets might just opt to keep Church which would make everything I just discussed mute. But it is worth talking about the possibilites if it did happen...

Mets might miss out on free agent market -- move on to trading

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:17:03 -0500

It seems the Mets might have to raise their bids for some of their free agent pitching targets -- namely Derek Lowe -- or will have to turn to trades to fill their needs.

Why Not Lee...

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:43:53 -0500

The Mets are said to be in the market for a right handed power bat who can play left field but the market for such a player is extremely dry. However; just recently it was reported that the Astros may look to move Carlos Lee as a cost cutting measure.

Houston. All you hear about the Astros is ...

Is Church on the block.....

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:18:22 -0500

Raul Ibanez's name keeps surfacing and now Bobby Abreu has joined the buzz. As I said in this post, the Mets have no need for another left handed bat unless their planning on moving one. Initially I thought maybe the sign and trade rumors were true and they were looking to replace Delgado's bat ...

Mets=Joan Rivers

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:34:36 -0500

So yeah, my New York Mets have collapsed in each of the last two seasons. Each time, we lost out on a playoff birth on the last day of the season. The acquisition of Johan Santana could not stop it. The firing of Willie Randolph could not stop it. And even the gangsta-ness of Jerry Manuel could not stop it. As a fan, this has been torture to watch. For the players, the pain has to be excruciating.

So how can the Mets ensure that the collapses of the last two seasons are a thing of the past? With a facelift of course! Or at least that's what David Wright thinks (ESPN.com):

"You go through two seasons that we've been through the last couple years and you're going to need a little bit of a facelift," Wright said Wednesday. "There's 30 teams out there that can use pitching, and obviously we're one of them."

Hmmm...a face lift you say? Not a bad idea, David. I loved the acquisition of Johan Santana last off season, but I think that move was more botox than facelift. Yeah sure Santana is phenomenal and an absolute ace, but he did not solve the fundamental issue with this ball club: the supporting cast, who dramatically failed the Mets in 2008. It can't be that hard to build a team around David Wright, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran right?

Wrong. Over the past two seasons, Omar Minaya has littered the Mets with a combination of under performing players, injured players, and players who simply are not that good. Take a look:

-The entire bullpen failed to step up this season after Billy Wagner went down. (This means you: Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, Duaner Sanchez, Joe Smith, and Pedro Feliciano)
-Ryan Church, John Maine, Ramon Castro, and Pedro Martinez all missed significant amounts of playing time
-Too many meaningful at bats to Endy Chavez, Luis Castillo, Argenis Reyes, Nick Evans, Trot Nixon, Marlon Anderson, and Brian Schnieder
-And by the end of the season, our closer was Luis Ayala and our starting second baseman was Ramon Martinez.

So yeah, I think David hit it head on here. Change is needed for the Mets to succeed. And it's not just adding one big player (i.e K-Rod) either. Omar Minaya needs to go out and surround the core of this team with consistent and productive players who will not make me have an ulcer by August. That's the real face lift that this team needs...because in the end it's about 25 guys, not 5 guys, who get the job done and win ballgames. You cannot win when half of you team is terrible and hurt...it's a fact.

So go ahead, shake up the Mets Omar, but do not touch the core. In the end, no Met fan is going to care if we look like Joan Rivers from all the stress...all we want is a title!

On Blowhards and Blowing Up the Team

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:07:52 -0500

I had an email this morning asking me if, after my extended layoff from blogging, I was going to weigh in on all of the blathering that WFAN's Mike Francesa has been doing about the Mets this off-season.

I have to admit that I haven't listened to Francesa -- with or without his partner -- for a ...

Ibanez interest- implications for Delgado ?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:59:18 -0500

I understand that Raul Ibanez was the face of the Seattle Mariners because he was such a great clubhouse guy and that he will hit consistently for .280 the entire year instead of running hot/cold like many Mets hitters. But obtaining another left handed bat who's a defensive liability and an aging veteran (37 y/o) just doesn't make sense on the surface. Ibanez is the only player the Mets have been linked to speaking with and when generally Omar allows this much buzz to escape his camp it means they are obtaining the player. Ibanez reminds me of Shawn Green who was a great mid-season acquisition but not somebody I'd expect to be signed in the off-season, which makes me think there's a lefty on his way out......

Mets have four left handed bats who could be considered expendable; Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Brian Schneider and Dan Murphy. Ryan Church would probably be the most valuable but I hope he's kept as part of the core of the team. The Mets could go with two right handed catchers but Brian Schneider's bat really doesn't need to be replaced. Dan Murphy would more then likely be included in a package deal for a pitcher and I'm sure Omar would try to make Nick Evans the player in the deal instead of Murphy. Has Murphy built enough value outside of the Mets organization to obtain a player that would be worth his loss.

Then there's Carlos Delgado, I know he had his press conference today and he said all the right things, about playing till 500 HRs and glad to be back in NY. But as I've said before if the Mets think they need to change the leadership and atmosphere in the clubhouse then they need to look no further then Delgado. While rumors have swirled about signing and trading him, Omar has been very clear that Delgado is his 1B for 2009. But the only way Ibanez makes sense is as the left handed veteran leader ( basically replacing Delgado not joining him) and if the Angels push hard for Delgado I wonder if a deal could be struck.....

The Angels clearly want to retain Teixeira. But if the Angels were unable to keep Teixeira, it is possible they could turn their focus to a trade for Carlos Delgado to help provide some of the offensive punch lost with Teixeira. In that scenario, the Mets would consider pursuing Ramirez. source NY Post

Gammons: Mets will build around core players

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:54:03 -0500

As to the delight of many Mets fans that have been listening to Mike Francesa who said the Mets will break up the core and trade such players like Reyes, Wright or Beltran, it will not be done according to Peter Gammons. Instead the Mets will build around core players in 2009.

Gammons also suggests that the Mets don't have the money that everyone thinks they have to spend because they still have Billy Wagner on the payroll. According to Gammons, the Mets have to get a starter, a reliever, and a bat to supplement Ryan Church.

With the Mets in high pursuit for a closer, they hope that K- Rod's asking price will be around 10-12 million and if it's above that they will look to Brian Fuentes. The Mets can also try and trade for Jose Valverde but it will cost the m Jon Niese.. Also many will be in line for the services of Huston Street like the Brewers, Indians, and many others...

Gammons had a amazing stat, saying that David Wright came to plate more than anyone in baseball with runners in scoring positon, second was Justin Morneau. He said that David has to relax more at the plate and stop putting so much pressure on himself. He also believes that Jose Reyes has to go back to having fun on the field and Beltran just has to be Beltran....

Church Quote: "I love it there. I want to play there, I want to finish there."

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:53:59 -0500

Speaking of Mike Francesa, who likes to make up things and told many on his WFAN radio talk show that Ryan Church hates it here. He went as far to challenge many of his listeners by saying, "I will put my sources up against any of theirs (listeners)". MLB.com put the question to rest as they asked Ryan Church the magical question if he hated it here and guess what, Francesa was wrong..

Church was quoted as saying, " you have to consider the source" , "I never said anything like that, never thought anything like that. With all that happened [his concussions and the extended absence they caused], I really enjoyed my time playing. And when I finally got back, the way I was received [at Shea Stadium Aug. 22], it was great. I love it there. I want to play there, I want to finish there."

Take that Francesa, who obviously needed something spark his ratings, plus his hatred towards the Mets. In addition, he need something to talk about on his show because it sucks now due to Chris Russo's exit.. Way to go, Mike......................

Hey Omar, Now is the time to make something happen!

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:07:18 -0500

I am sure Omar and the Mets front office all watched the World Series and you all were probably hoping the Tampa Bay Rays would win it. Now you have to face that the Phillies are champs and the NY media will be there with all those annoying questions on top of it.

The NL East will be more challenging next year. The Braves have already made threats of getting Jake Peavy from the Padres. While teams like the Marlins will be getting better as they will retool with trades as well. The Nationals might be the only team right now you don't have to worry about, but they can bite us on the ass on any occasion as well...

So Omar, what are you gonna do? It's time for you to shake things up a bit. That does not mean you have to get rid of the core ( Beltran, Reyes or Wright). That does not mean that you have to get every high profiled free agent out there , but you have to put some more winning character on this team.

Hey the Mets lack leadership and no one in the clubhouse is a stand up kind of guy. They run around thinking about their stats , thinking that they are the best until they get to September where they all fall apart!

As I been saying for awhile, the Mets need a couple of hard asses and grinders on this team whether its Eric Byrnes, David Eckstein or whoever they need some spunk and fire!

The Mets have problems and it starts with the starting pitching. The Mets have 2 out of the 5 in the rotation on the free agent list. They have John Maine who is coming off surgery and no one knows how he will respond. So the Mets have to get two new pitchers in their rotation next year unless they resign Oliver Perez then it is down to one. You will also have to find some insurance when it comes down to Maine if he can't go. There has been talk about CC Sabathia who is probably going the Yankees for a kings ransom. Or he can settle in the Dodgers Rotation as they look for starting pitching. Derek Lowe has been mentioned to added to the Mets staff but there has been talk that he wants to stay in the west coast as well. So you have to find some pitchers who is not afraid of the Big Bad New York Market and find them fast..

Now you have to figure out this bullpen, which was this teams Achilles heal this year . Are we going to go through with another season of torture from Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis? Or are we going to see some fresh new recruits... I'd like to see LHP Jeremy Affeldt in a Mets uniform and also would not mind seeing a Juan Cruz who can setup. Both are free agents.. Who is going to lead us in the bullpen as our closer?? Is it going to be the AL saves leader and record holder, K-Rod or are we going to get a cheaper model like a Brian Fuentes? Or will it be the unknown like a Eddie Kunz or Bobby Parnell.

The Mets have other problems to address like who is going to be their second basemen.. The answer for you could be to keep the hated Luis Castillo who is under contract (LOL, Great deal) and by the way, Mets fans think he sucks...You could go out and get a David Eckstein who is a pesky kind of player or a good clubhouse presence like Orlando Hudson who is a solid alternative....or you can let the young Dan Murphy get a shot who has proved that he can hit, but you will have to bite the bullet if he can't field his position at 2B.

The outfield who right now is held together by Carlos Beltran. The Mets have to find out about the Myth of Ryan Church hating New York. If he don't like it here , get rid of him and find someone who does... The Mets can use Dan Murphy in left field next year and find another bat that has compromising ability to take the pressure off the rest of the core of this team. Manny Ramirez would be an easy fix, but for the price he is asking it might be just a dream. Magglio Ordonez's name just came up and the Tigers might have to unload his salary. I would not mind seeing him as long as he stays healthy.. Then you have Matt Holliday who every Mets fan is clamoring about. For me, the money you will have to pay him and his career splits at Coors and on the road scares me. He might be another pipe dream.

I can't believe that now the Mets think their problems stem from their catchers. They have Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro, who both of them are under contract. Not the greatest hitting duo ever sought out, but they have some ability behind the plate. The Mets hierarchy thinks maybe now is the time to get Bengie Molina, who can hit and catch. This to me should be their last priority as they face greater obstacles in their way...

Get it done Omar this offseason...... and Let the Hot Stove League begin!